Abstract

Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories employing nano-floating-gate show high performance in vacuum, typically with field-effect mobility of 0.6 cm2/Vs, memory window of 45 V, reading ON/OFF ratio over 106, and excellent retention ability and programming/erasing endurance. The memory performance is unstable in air, which is demonstrated to result mainly from the device operation instability in O2. The O2-induced acceptor-like trap states reduce the electron supply in pentacene during programming, limiting the electron trapping into the nano-floating-gate and thus suppressing the positive threshold voltage shift. The corresponding hole trapping during erasing is not effectively influenced by the ambient gas effects.

Received 16 November 2012Accepted 18 January 2013Published online 05 February 2013

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program, Nos. 2010CB934503 and 2011CB808404), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61006015, 51033007, and 61274019), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK2010220), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

30.See supplementary material at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4790186 for morphology of nano-floating-gate, moisture effects of an OFET memory based on nano-floating-gate, and illumination responses in high vacuum and in air of an OFET memory based on nano-floating-gate. [Supplementary Material]

Abstract

Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memories employing nano-floating-gate show high performance in vacuum, typically with field-effect mobility of 0.6 cm2/Vs, memory window of 45 V, reading ON/OFF ratio over 106, and excellent retention ability and programming/erasing endurance. The memory performance is unstable in air, which is demonstrated to result mainly from the device operation instability in O2. The O2-induced acceptor-like trap states reduce the electron supply in pentacene during programming, limiting the electron trapping into the nano-floating-gate and thus suppressing the positive threshold voltage shift. The corresponding hole trapping during erasing is not effectively influenced by the ambient gas effects.